Lawyers in Dubai, UAE

HL&A

About us

Established in 1997, HL&A is a leading legal consultancy and advocacy firm for the UAE, providing expert legal services to public sector entities, individuals, and private enterprises. HL&A’s extensive regional experience and knowledge of local, national, and international laws supports a wide range of clients from various industries, including real estate, construction and engineering, finance and banking, mergers and acquisitions, hospitality, media, maritime and transport, oil and gas and others.

The firm’s commitment to excellent legal services for all clients means each highly trained and committed legal professional excel in their respective specialties. HL&A’s highly qualified team includes arbitrators, partners and legal consultants with decades of practical experience in the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

Corporate Law

HL&A supports local and international clients in a wide range of industries and sectors establish themselves and conduct business within the UAE. Our multi-disciplinary legal teams are expert in navigating both mainland legal structures, and those offered by the DIFC Courts. We facilitate company formation, investment structuring, contract drafting and negotiation, licensing, and a raft of other business enabling services such as IP protection, trademark registration, consultation on business matters. We work with all sizes of businesses to safeguard their interests and support in any dispute resolution.

Company Formation & Structuring

With suitable organisational structures assuming paramount importance in supporting sustainable business performance, HL&A has created a specialist team to advise corporate clients on company formation. Our local experience gives us a unique insight into the vast range of UAE corporate structures available for clients to pursue their business and commercial objectives. Whether onshore, offshore, or in one of the many UAE free zones, our team expertly guides clients in selecting the ideal company structure and advise them on compliance and restructuring.

Labour Law

A market as diverse and multicultural as the UAE sees a global confluence of expectations, norms and ethics when it comes to employment. At HL&A, we make it our mission to help both employers and employees create equitable terms of employment in a manner compatible with the UAE labour law and relevant regulations. Our labour and employment expertise cover the entire employment lifecycle to ensure conformity and compliance. Our bilingual advocates support and represent clients in all post-termination disputes and litigation procedures and provide assistance with mediation at all labour committees.

Arbitration

Our arbitration practice is highly regarded, with many team members renowned for their individual practices. We specialise in guiding and representing clients through the arbitration process; a process that is emerging as a preferred avenue of dispute resolution due to time, and cost benefits in certain cases. Arbitrations can be faster and less resource-intensive than litigation but require a similar duty of diligence and preparation. Our arbitration lawyers are registered to appear before DIAC and the DIFC LCIA Arbitration Centre.

Litigation

With over two decades of experience delivering equitable outcomes across civil, criminal and commercial cases, a team of expert litigation lawyers who have the right of audience in all the local courts including the DIFC courts, in-depth understanding of the complexities of the legal system, and our strong relationships with local authorities make HL&A the de facto choice when it comes to pleading cases in UAE courts. We have developed a reputation as one of the leading litigation firms in the UAE offering exceptional legal expertise coupled with high standards client service.

Family Law

Our family law practice helps families navigate sensitive situations with confidence and impartiality. Our teams are well versed in local and Shariah law, and ensure that any family-related agreements are compatible with local regulations. From divorce and custody considerations to inheritance, property and prenuptial agreements, our teams offer legal support ranging from advice to dispute resolution and court representation.

Banking & Finance

Our banking and finance legal team advises banks, institutions, SME’s and enterprises navigate the UAE’s vibrant and fast evolving financial and banking sector. With years of local expertise merging with global best practice, we advise clients on financial and commercial transactions, private equity, real estate, project, trade and acquisition financing, anti-money-laundering, compliance with Shariah Law and regulations among others. We also specialize in financial dispute resolution including banking disputes, enforcements, bankruptcy, fraud and financial crime relying on methods ranging from arbitration to litigation.

Financial Crime

Our financial crime legal team safeguards the interests of all stakeholders within the financial ecosystem – including regulators, financial institutions, multinational organizations, SMEs and high net-worth individuals. We help clients navigate the ramifications of serious crime such as corporate fraud, credit card, bank and loan fraud, forgery, identity theft, breach of trust, money laundering, bounced cheques, embezzlement and others. We also act in a preventative advisory role, helping global and local concerns comply with KYC, AML, anti-bribery and anti-terrorism financing regulations.

Private Notary Services

HL&A is authorized and licensed by the Government of Dubai to offer Private Notary Services which could be provided to our clients either at our office or anywhere convenient to them – at their office, home or elsewhere.Our private notary services include a wide range of legal document attestations such as: general or personal power of attorney, Memorandum of Association, amendment to Memorandum of Association, endorsement of signature, declaration of residency, sales and purchase agreement, legal notices and judicial warnings, job offers, among others.

Contracts

HL&A relies on its multi-disciplinary experienced teams to create an integrated hub for contract law expertise, irrespective of the industry or sector. Our team provides comprehensive, in-depth advice that reflects clients’ business needs as well as commercial and legal realities. Be it large complex commercial contracts, employment contracts, or standard loan structuring agreements, our clients’ interests are always protected through sound, legally enforceable and carefully constructed agreements. In case of contractual disputes, our arbitration and litigation teams are regarded as some of the leading experts in their jurisdiction for dispute resolution.

Engineering & Construction

With the construction industry being is a dynamic and essential component of the UAE economy, HL&A’s Engineering and Construction practice safeguards the interests of crucial stakeholders within the sector including developers, investors, contractors and sub-contractors, facility management companies, project consultants and others. Our expert and multilingual lawyers, who understand the local nuances, offer our clients a comprehensive service covering the entire project lifecycle– from bids and tendering, procurement, contracts and agreements, claims to dispute resolution.

Maritime & Transport

With maritime and transport playing a seminal role in the UAE’s economic prosperity and status as strategic trade hub, HL&A’s legal experts safeguard stakeholder interests in the field. Our services cover the entire gamut of legal assistance for the sector – starting with contract creation, covering financial agreements and moving on to dispute resolution, accidents and unforeseen issues such as spillage, incidents, pollution, or ship detention.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Our expert legal team assists clients in undertaking some of the UAE’s most significant M&A deals. From joint ventures and asset purchases, management buyouts and disposals to mergers and acquisitions our team brings to the table their multi-disciplinary expertise that help clients achieve viable and beneficial deals in full compliance with local regulations. Our M&A practice is helping create amalgamated organisations and streamlined structures to power future prosperity.

Wills & Guardianship

Our Wills and Guardianship practice offers clients peace of mind by assisting in all aspects of estate planning, inheritance and guardianship. We prepare and document wills, trusts and guardianship agreements that can be effectively enforced within the UAE legal system – ensuring that families who have suffered bereavement are not additionally burdened by time-consuming costly, and legally complex court procedures. Our legal team is well experienced in Shariah Law and specialised in creating wills and guardianship agreements under the Dubai International Financial Centre Wills and Probate Registry.

Who We Are

Our Team

Our advocates and legal consultants are committed to the pursuit of excellence in legal services and client support. From the simplest matter to complex cases requiring specialist expertise, our dedication to trust, respect, quality, and our in-depth understanding of the law ensures our clients receive committed legal representation that protects their interests.

Advocate Hussain Lootah

Advocate & Chairman of the Board

The founder and chairman of Hussain Lootah & Associates, Mr. Lootah earned a reputation for diligent advocacy after obtaining his bachelor’s degree in law

Balasubramanian K.

Finance and Operations Manager

What People Say

Testimonials

Black & White Engineering is a leading MEP engineering design consultancy with a long list of top clients and prestigious projects in our portfolio. Our engineering expertise is second to none but to remain successful and at the top our game we also need to ensure we have strong legal advice and representation when we need it. Many of the projects we work on, along with the contractual agreements that we are part of, are highly complex so it made sense for us to seek out an expert legal provider such as Hussain Lootah & Associates who can provide us with tailor made services to suit different situations.

Mick Cairns

CEO | Black & White Engineering

I would like to extend a big thanks to Mr. Lootah and his team for the wonderful support that they have not only provided my firm but also friends and colleagues of mine to whom I recommended your company. We have been fortunate enough to experience your team’s expert advice and support in various forms and have not only found it to be extremely effective but also extremely reasonably priced, especially considering that many regard Hussain Lootah & Associates to be a leading Law firm in the UAE. I do not hesitate to recommend your firm to anyone in need of Legal advice, regardless of the nature of the advice sought.

Andrew Burrow

Managing Director | 5 Capitals

I am writing to you to thank you all for the ongoing support you have provided our family since our daughter’s accident in 2016. You have guided us through the complexities of the UAE legal system in a way that has provided us with the time and space to focus our attention on our daughter’s sub-stational and ever-increasing health and medical needs with the confidence that Lily’s legal arrangements are in safe and expert hands. Stephen Ranger, Nesreen Nabil and Zahra Petafi in particular have been very supportive and compassionate since the accident and have always provided prompt advice and support to our many queries especially since our enforced return to Australia.